


The Art of Cartography

by Storycollector



Series: The Library at the End of the World [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Great Library of Alexandria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 23:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8867983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storycollector/pseuds/Storycollector
Summary: This is more of a study about the great library, the city Bibliopolis and Bizaar - places in my original works verse - in prose form than an actual short story with plot and proper resolution. It was written as a submission for a Wattpad fiction writing contest and there was a limited word count so that's why it looks this way.





	

Iskandaria is a place where you can find anyone and anything. This continent supports the weight of the largest town in all worlds – the Bibliopolis. The city of beings that were created in others’ minds. Because Bibliopolis can be found only in the storyworld the realm of the tales that have come to life thanks to an author and her readers. As long as a tale is not forgotten by the mortals in the real world, the tale lives on. 

The most important building in Bibliopolis is the Great Library. It’s greatness doesn’t rely solely on its vastness, its importance is immeasurable as it is here where all records about all stories are kept. Unfortunately the real and unreal worlds are divided by an impermeable borderline. Were the Librarians able to cross into the realm of Authors and Readers, they could have saved a myriad of Character lives from the fall into the abyss of oblivion. 

However splendid the Library with shelves bursting tomes about history and magic and with chests full of enchanted jewels is, it’s not the only fascinating place on Iskandaria. There are inns ready to satisfy all your pleasures from family friendly pensions run by rosy cheeked hen-like matrons to decadent gambling houses where the right sum of money may convince the right people that some rules are in fact just vague guidelines and ‘have fun, sir!’. 

Then there is the Bizaar. Located on a whole peninsula, because Bibliopolis has long since outgrown the continent it has been born on and is now overflowing onto nearby archipelagos and solitary islands, can be found the most bizarre of bazaars hence the name Bizaar. 

You could find six handed merchants selling three eyed and four winged birds as easily as genies selling flying carpets or imps selling genies trapped in lamps enchanted to obey the owner of the lamp. Among the sellers of curiosities and antiquities were skipping the entertainers. The dancers and the jugglers, the beast tamers and the musicians.

In one tent sewn together from differently coloured and patterned clothes lived a person that had something of both sorts in her. The paper scraps scattered around a modest desk together with the cans either filled with colours or empty ones holding pens and brushes gave away that here lives an artist. The person in question was looking through her old sketches, inspecting which ones are good enough to be presented in her portfolio and which are to be thrown away. 

Jennyssica narrowed her almond shaped eyes as she crumpled a page full of doodles and sighing threw it into the tent’s corner. She could really use a new job now. The girl would sometimes draw the Bibliopolis residents, their pets and the buildings to improve her skills but lately she felt hard pressed for ideas about what to draw. The right kind of job could revive her artistic passion and bring her some money. The Bibliopolis may have been a fictional city but it damn sure wasn’t an utopia where you could get anything for free.

Jennyssica’s glance landed on a miniature animal, no more than ten inches long from its snout to the very tip of its thin tail, resembling a dragon with only two front paws and a long mane on its head. It was sleeping peacefully on a stack of papers on her desk. She poked the creature with a pen but all did it was to stir and puff a cloud of smoke but otherwise the critter ignored her. “Heya, hey, do something you lazy muse bum,” she said with another poke. Suddenly the beastling perked up and jumped into the air so quickly the pen fell out of Jenny’s hand. 

As she bent over to pick it up again, the drake flew to a tent’s wall where it found a tear in a sheet even smaller than its own body. It wiggled through the tear and flew out into the open world. “Stop! Ignatio, stop,” Jennyssica shouted her pet’s name as she run after it. Unfortunately the crowd was too thick and Jenny wasn’t nearly as swift as her house critter so she lost him real soon but she hasn’t stopped looking for it. 

ᴥ

Meanwhile Ignatio pushed through the merchants and pick pockets and their victims and jumped on a cart dragging cow’s head. The bovine kept on chewing and didn’t mind the reptile paws massaging her broad skull. Ignatio’s little drake head swung from left to right and back and his small body was tense. 

Suddenly it spotted something. Or rather someone. It pounced on its target and landed on a   
dark brown orb of rich and curly hair. The owner of such beautiful hair was startled when the flying creature began sniffing the air next to her face and tugging at her sleeves but the more the young girl observed the critter the calmer she was. Soon she saw that it wasn’t being threatening, it was very excited but not in a menacing way. Still she wished she knew what is the creature trying to communicate.

Luckily for them both the flying drake’s owner was already running and elbowing her way through the mass of beings. “’ere you are, you rascal. Sorry for my muselion, ma’am. I don’t know why it acts like that,” said Jennyssica still panting after the sudden sprint.   
“A muselion?” the other asked raising her eyebrow. Jenny nodded: “Yes, a spirit animal that acts as your personal muse. However mine looks less like a lion and more like a dragon.” “A muse? Perhaps you are an artist,” asked the black girl with a curious spark in her dark brown eyes. 

So that’s why her muselion acted so weird, it sensed an opportunity. And Jennyssica was prepared to seize it. “Yes, ma’am. I can show you my works right away, my tent is nearby.”  
“Splendid. Lead the way then before the little one bursts with excitement,” smiled Jenny’s potential customer. Ignatio the muselion was already much calmer now that he got these two to talk to each other. 

ᴥ

The black girl introduced herself as Nara Joy, a Librarian. She told Jenny that the name Great Library doesn’t refer to the importance or age alone but due to its enormous size there are many passages and rooms. And not all of them have been described and properly catalogued. “I’ve discovered one such ‘secret’ passage but I can’t draw so I need your help.”

It sounded interesting. Jenny would be usually commissioned to portray someone’s significant other, illustrate a book or paint murals on rich men’s houses but cartography was something new to her. And to think she would be going to the Library that allows no access to non-Librarians. Jennyssica was sure that place will rekindle her artistic flame. However there was still one thing that has to be cleared. “I don’t want to crush your hopes but I don’t work for free.”

Nara’s eyes glistened and she grinned: “Oh, no worries, I’ve saved some money doing chores.” Right, when the Librarians don’t let anyone among them they can’t keep servants and must do they laundry alone, said Jenny mentally. 

They agreed to go do their job tomorrow after sunrise so they will have enough time for exploring of the corridor. Nara will have to arrive even sooner as she will bring Jenny clothes to disguise herself. 

Then Nara noticed the paper balls in the corner of the tent: “Oh, and please bring some of your discarded doodles, too. We will need a few pages of old used paper.” Jennyssica nodded even though she didn’t get why would they need a page of crappy sketches for map making but she shrug it off for the time being.

ᴥ

The next day started with Jennyssica dressing into a long flowing robe with wide sleeves and a covering her hair with a large colourful shawl. This outfit was unlike her usual style so she was sure none of her acquaintances will be able to recognize her. Nara also managed to get a hold of tube of glamour crème. An enchanted make up that acted as fairy glamour for twenty four hours. Whoever has seen Jenny that day wouldn’t have guessed that her skin is naturally the shade of copper, not powder blue. 

Journey through the city went smoothly because even though they weren’t alone in the streets the traffic was rather scarce compared to the jams that build when the majority of the population finally moves wherever they have to go. Soon the two girls stood in front of the centre of the city, the library that could be considered a sort of city in itself. 

Jennyssica, Nara and Ignatio hidden in a bag walked into a rather dark room. In front of them were gigantic doors. Nara Joy smiled remembering her first time seeing the portal to the sanctuary of bibliophiles. The doors were designated to fit every possible folk in existence – the organic, the unorganic, the giant ones, the tiny ones, simply anyone. Because anyone could become a Librarian if they wanted and were prepared to make some life changing steps.

Nara leaned to a human proportioned window in the wall, the room behind the glass was even darker and there was some figure moving but Jennyssica couldn’t make out who or what it was. The black Librarian said loud and clearly: “I’m the Wordling Nara Joy I’ve come to register Tzuli as a new Letterookie.” It was safer to use a false name, though the chance someone knew Jennyssica the artist wasn’t high. Something moved in its lair in the wall and soon the human shaped part of the massive door opened. 

The two explorers stepped into the first hall with its tall walls decorated with numerous bookshelves and tapestries and with globes and planes hovering in the air above everyone’s heads. The Library is a sight even for those who live and breathe bizarre on a daily basis such as Jennyssica.

“That’s it. We’ve got you in,” Joy’s eye twinkled with impish amusement as she leaned to her new friend whispering. Her eyes sure sparkle a lot noticed Jenny. They arrived to remote part of Library where spiders managed to live undisturbed enough to sew large cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling. 

Suddenly the black Librarian stopped. The wall didn’t look suspiciously. An armour and a handless statue of a woman guarded shelves of glass jars with mammal, bird and amphibian foetuses in alcohol. Except that next to the hollow knight was a small hole with a tin roof above it. “Here is the portal to the passage. Time to take out the sketch papers,” Nara motioned to Jennyssica’s bag. “Here you go,” said Jenny as she handed the old papers to her customer. 

“It’s a clever mechanism,” explained Nara as she set up the papers on an iron tray she took with them. “I’ve discovered it purely by chance. I used a cigarette lighter as a light source that time - you don’t get to use flash light whenever you want, not even here,” she said when she caught Jenny’s incredulous look. “And a spark has fallen on a book and you see dry paper burns fast so it caught fire real quick but luckily I had a bottle full of water with me so I extinguished the fire, however the smoke was detected and the door opened.” 

While talking Nara lit a match and put its mini flame to the papers. The crumbled pages began to burn and crumbled some more as they blackened, the smoke rose to the hole where something woke up to do its job. One of the shelves shook a bit and the whole part of the wall slid a little in the back and sidewise allowing the girls to enter. 

“The key is to have a paper that has been written – or drawn – on, I don’t know how the mechanism can differentiate between a blank and full page but it can. Trust me I tried.  
Must be some spell or chemistry,” added Nara. “Must be hard for you bookfolks to set a book on fire,” mused Jennyssica aloud. “I think that’s the idea of whoever built this passage. That no true book loving Librarian would ever discover it.” 

ᴥ

They walked in, Jenny provided them with a thin but strong string they tied around each other’s waist as not to lose each other. Jennyssica felt Ignatio getting antsy in his hideout so she opened her bag to let the creature out. Her tiny muselion frolicked in the air doing somersaults and pirouettes it was clear the lizard muse was feeling happy. Jenny smiled at his airborne dance, Ignatio was one of a kind. Which was true muselions weren’t bred like dogs for example, they created by the Muses. Each of the creatures was unique and for Jenny Ignatio was as much her closes friend as most prized possession.

The map took five days before it was finished but those days weren’t lost in the slightest. At the very least Nara paid the painter money for the job and her secrecy. Furthermore Jenny gained a new friend and new ideas for her doodles. In fact she would make short breaks just to draw a thing or two between the measuring and map creating.   
During one such break on the last day Nara Joy asked her: “Aren’t you having second thoughts about becoming a Librarian?” Jennyssica shook her head: “Not really. Bizaar is my home but I’m glad for this once in a lifetime opportunity. If you ever need an artist I will always make time for you.”


End file.
